Out from Under: Shifting Forces in Latin America
Toronto, Canada - October 15, 2006
While political winds have been blowing rightward in North America, the opposite has been happening in Latin America. On October 15 participants at the Out from Under: Shifting forces in Latin America conference had the opportunity to hear directly from resource people from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela about changes happening in their respective countries as well as across the broader region.
There were three separate sessions. The morning opened with an overview roundtable on nature and significance of the changes in Latin America. After lunch, a second session focused on oil and gas in the Americas, implications for sovereignty, and how a public resource can best serve the public good. The final session looked at the role of women in the context of the changes underway in Latin America – with a particular focus on Bolivia.
Presenters and facilitators at this event were:
• Jorge Garcia, United Steelworkers of America, facilitator and contributor on Argentina
• Graciela Rodriguez, Coordinator, International Gender and Trade Network and representative of the Hemispheric Social Alliance. Contributor on role of social movements
• Luis Lander, Professor/researcher, Central University of Venezuela with published material on Energy questions
• Fernando Lopez, General Secretary of the Brazilian National Confederation of Metalworkers, CNM-CUT
• John Dillon, KAIROS facilitator and contributor on Canada
• Reg Anstey, President, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, on Newfoundland’s experience in dealing with transnational oil corporations
• Lydia Robles, Women’s Secretary for the Federation of Factory Workers of Cochabamba
• Alberto Camacho, organizer for the Bolivian Postal Union ECOBOL and former leader of the Miner’s Union
• Viviana Patroni, Director for the Centre for Education and Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University
Event co-chairs were
• Nadja Drost: Canadian Council for International Cooperation- Americas Policy Group coordinator
• John Cartwright: President, Toronto and York Region Labour Council
Heather Chetwynd and Marcelo Puente performed several songs from their new album VIDA/LIFE over the lunch hour. (You can reach them at heather@voice2word.ca and marcelopuente23@yahoo.ca,)
The conference was co-sponsored by Common Frontiers-Canada, The Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean-York U., The Transformative Learning Centre-OISE-UofT, The Gindin Chair-Ryerson U., and The Toronto and York Region Labour Council.
*A special thanks to Judith Marshall-USW and Rick Arnold–C.F. for their work in helping to organize the conference.